BLOG - Understanding the experiences of children growing up in kinship care in Scotland

What is kinship care, and why is this research important? 

When a child or young person is unable to be cared for by their family for any reason, they may come into the care of their local authority. They may be cared for by foster carers, or in residential homes, or at home with their parents with support and supervision provided by their local authority. In recent years, however, and in line with government policy and guidance in Scotland, there has been a rapidly increasing proportion of children and young people (CYP) in need of care and protection who are being cared for by close friends or extended family, such as a grandparent, aunt or uncle. This is known as formal kinship care.

The most recent data for 2022 shows that in Scotland more than 1 in 3 children in care (34%) are living with kinship carers, up from just 13% in 2006. 

As the proportion of children living in kinship care grows, it is important that there is a better understanding of their experiences so that support for both them and their carers can continue to be improved.

What have we discovered so far? 

This SCADR study is being conducted by researchers using anonymised data gathered by local authorities on all children who were in kinship care in Scotland between 2008 and 2019. The information collected includes:

• the dates that a child or young person was in care
• the types of environments that they lived in
• where they moved to after leaving care.

Where possible, this information has been linked to the anonymised information available for the same children from their education and health records. 

To date, we have used the data to explore the care journeys of children and young people who have spent time living with a kinship carer. This has provided insights into:

• the types and numbers of different places that they lived in while in care,
• the length of time that they generally spent in kinship care,
• the substantial regional variations in children’s experiences of kinship care across different local authority areas within Scotland

Our initial analysis has centred solely on these CYP's experiences of care, and has shown that there is substantial regional variation across Scotland’s different local authorities. The proportion of children and young people (CYP) living in kinship care ranged from fewer than 20% to more than 50% of all children in care.

There is also evidence of a relationship between the proportion of children and young people (CYP) in kinship care and areas of high deprivation. 

The research has also found that an increasing proportion of children are now cared for by kinship carers under voluntary care arrangements where their parents agree for their child to be cared for by a family member or friend with the support of their local authority, as opposed to compulsory measures such as a Compulsory Supervision Order or Child Protection Order being used.

What’s next? 

The next stage of our research intends to make use of the linked education and health data that is available for CYP who have spent time living with kinship carers. 

This will provide a more complete picture of their experiences and outcomes beyond care, and will help those responsible for their care and support to better understand what might be needed to ensure all children are able to get the right help when they need it and thrive.

Full findings from the research will be published on the Growing Up In Kinship Care project page and are expected by June 2024. 

Further information

Find out more about the project by clicking on this link.